A couple of years ago I was given a gift certificate to a local garden centre. It was a really thoughtful gift from a great group of guys and girls that I used to host a game of cards for. They knew I had just moved onto a big block of dirt and that I was planning on starting a fruit and vege garden so it was a really awesome gesture from the gang.
What they didn’t know was my thumbs are not very green. In fact they are probably the opposite of green. I have no idea what the opposite colour to green is but whatever that is, my thumbs are that colour.
Seeing as The Mahi Mahi Room is tiki themed and there would be plenty of cocktails made I used the voucher to buy one each of a small lemon and a small lime plant. Everyone knows that fresh lemons and limes are essential parts of a good cocktail selection so I thought that these two trees would make an excellent start to my garden. As a bonus, have you seen how much lemons and limes cost at the supermarket? I stand to save a bucket load of cash over the years with these two babies.
I did a bit of research and found there’s not a lot to growing lemons and limes so I was pretty comfortable taking this first step. Pot – check. Potting mix – check. Plants – check. Water – check. Aaaaand go!
Luckily, they turned out to be fairly easy to look after. I had a few early problems when the plants were just babies with insects but after a bit of research I found a nice natural mixture of garlic and pepper that would both help feed the plants and keep the insects under control.
It worked pretty well. They’re starting to bear fruit and they’re almost at the stage where I need to transplant them out of the pots into the ground. Turns out at least one of my thumbs might actually be a little green after all.
Even better, I’ve just started to be able to use the limes although the lemons are still not ripening as quickly as I would have hoped. Actually I’m not too upset because limes are more common than lemons in cocktail use anyway. Besides, I love me a fresh slice of lime in my rum and ginger beer, which means as far as I’m concerned, I’m having a win.
So here’s to those guys and girls that chipped in so I could have my very own fresh limes for my rum whilst I kick back and watch the footy. You know who you are. And the vitamin C from the limes will stop me from getting scurvy. Cheers
